Iwate Prefecture - Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters

In 839, a meteorite fell from the sky in Dewa Province causing a large number of peasants in the area of Fort Isawa to desert.

On 13 July 869, a magnitude 8.6 earthquake and tsunami struck the coast of Iwate.

On 14 November 1230, volcanic activity was reported.

On 2 December 1611, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake and tsunami were reported to have killed over 3,000 horses and people.

In 1662 Morioka and its suburbs were hit by a large flood leaving 1,000 dead.

Volcanic activity was reported on Mt. Iwate on 23 March 1686 and 14 April 1687.

On 13 May 1717, The Hanamaki area was struck with a magnitude 7.6 earthquake opening cracks in the ground everywhere. There was also widespread destruction of houses and shops.

In Nanbu-han alone, 49,594 people starved to death in the famine of 1755.

Severe famines continue from 1783 to 1787 and again from 1832 to 1838.

Cholera outbreaks occurred in August 1879, in Miyako and Kuji.

In July 1882, a cholera outbreak in Kamaishi left 302 dead and warnings about drinking water were posted throughout the prefecture.

In April 1884, there was another outbreak of cholera in Kamaishi.

In September 1886, cholera outbreaks throughout Iwate left 312 dead.

On 15 June 1896 at 7:32 am a magnitude 8.5 earthquake struck offshore. The ensuing tsunami sent waves onto the coast of Iwate at Yoshihama, in what is now Sanriku town, reaching 24 meters in height. 18,158 people died in Iwate alone while some 10,000 homes were destroyed. Fishermen fishing the ocean about 20 miles offshore felt nothing, then returning home the next morning found the shore littered with their homes and the bodies of their loved ones.

In September, 1899 dysentery spread throughout the prefecture killing 2,070 people.

There was a widespread crop failure due to violent storms in September 1902. Only 32,900 tons of rice were produced in Iwate, just 30% of the previous year's harvest.

In 1905, there was again a massive crop failure due to heavy rain and cold leading to famine in 1906. People were reduced to eating straw, acorns and roots.

In 1919, Nishi-Iwate erupted.

On 3 March 1933, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck offshore killing 3,008 people and destroying 7,479 homes. This is the fifth worst earthquake in Japan since 1923.

Small explosions shook Mt. Iwate throughout 1934 and 1935.

In August 1957, there was volcanic activity on Mt. Kurikoma.

There was volcanic activity on Mt. Akita-Komagatake from September to December, 1970 with lava flows visible from Morioka.

In 2003, earthquakes struck on 26 May (M7.0 off the coast of Kessennuma, Miyagi Prefecture), 25 July (three jolts of M5.5, 6.2 and 5.3 in southern Iwate) and 26 September (M8.3 in Hokkaido but strongly felt in Iwate).

At 8:43 am on 14 June 2008, Iwate was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was about 8 km underground in Ichinoseki City. 13 deaths were reported and massive landshifts occurred in Northern Miyagi and Southern Iwate.

On Friday, 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit this area, triggering a large tsunami and extensive damage. The highest run up of water has been measured at over 38 meters. The disaster destroyed 9,672 of the prefecture's fishing vessels, damaged 108 of 111 ports, wiped-out nearly all of the prefecture's fish processing centers, and caused ¥371.5 billion in damage to the prefecture's fishing industry.